How To Throw Caution To The Wind

This week's Grasshopper Notes essay from John Morgan for the week of April 20th is about how to know when to throw caution to the wind.

 Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

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Transcript

How To Throw Caution To The Wind

Ever hear the old saying, “Don’t take any wooden nickels?” It’s basically a warning: be careful . . . don’t get taken.

But when we’re younger? We don’t exactly live by that rule.

We throw caution to the wind like it’s nothing.

I remember sneaking into a fenced-off quarry with some friends. It was filled with water, and we’d go there to swim. We’d climb up these jagged rock ledges and jump in.

One of those ledges was about 80 feet high.

And we didn’t hesitate. Not even a little. We were daring, dumb . . . and young.

If I went back there today? I’d probably get a nosebleed just climbing to the first ledge.

Something changes as we get older. That “wind” we used to throw caution to? It starts to feel a lot stronger . . . a lot more dangerous. So we hunker down. We play it safe.

And what we’re really talking about here . . . is fear.

Fear has a very convincing pitch. It promises to keep you safe. But what it often does is keep you stuck – away from anything that feels exciting, new, or alive.

I once had a teacher who put it this way: “The ripe fruit is out on the skinny branches.”

In other words, the good stuff? It’s usually not where it’s comfortable.

Now, I’m not suggesting we go back to making reckless, 80-foot jumps into the unknown. That’s not wisdom – that’s dumb luck.

But there’s something we do lose over time if we’re not careful: our willingness to take a chance.

And here’s the trade-off – if you never leave your comfort zone . . . which, let’s be honest, can turn into a rut . . . life starts to feel pretty flat. Safe, maybe. But flat.

The upside of getting older is that we’re not as easily fooled. We’ve seen enough “snake oil salesmen” to know better than to fall for every shiny promise.

So yes – some caution is earned.

But there are still plenty of risks worth taking.

Think about golf for a second. There’s a concept called “risk and reward.” You hit a bad shot into the woods, and now you’ve got a choice:

Do you try to pull off a miracle shot through the trees? Or do you take the penalty and play it safe?

Every golfer knows – that risky shot might work . . . but most of the time, it doesn’t.

Still, sometimes it does.

And that’s the point. Life is full of those moments.

The key is this: we all have an internal signal – an “OK / Not OK” feeling. It’s always there, quietly letting us know what’s right for us in the moment.

But too often, we ignore it.

And when we ignore it, fear gets louder. It keeps blowing us off course . . . and keeping us stuck in the woods.

Here’s something to consider: If you find yourself constantly overthinking whether to take a risk, chances are – you already knew the answer earlier. You just didn’t trust it.

So maybe the goal isn’t to eliminate caution . . . It’s to get better at sensing that signal.

Because that inner signal will tell you the difference between a refreshing breeze . . . and a gust that’ll knock you on your ass.

And that – right there – is the grown-up version of throwing caution to the wind.

All the best,

John